There's been some talk recently about whether Lovie will be around if the Bears don't make the playoffs next year, and who would replace him.  Some Bears fans are googly eyed over the prospect of (1-time) Super-Bowl winner Bill Cowher coming here.

I saw the news about the Rams releasing Pisa Tinoisamoa over at Football Outsiders, and this comment made me think about why having Lovie now is good for the Bears, and bringing in Cowher would be bad:

Somewhere out there is a Tampa-2 team that needs a smaller linebacker. Although -- man, the number of Tampa-2 teams has dropped, hasn't it?

Over the past few years, how many teams have switched to 3-4 defenses?  This year, the Chiefs and Packers are switching.  Dallas has been there for a few years, as has San Diego.  San Francisco switched recently.  The Jets will probably still operate as 3-4 somewhat, of course the Pats and Steelers do, and so on...

Meanwhile, how many Cover-2 teams are there?  I don't think Jim Schwartz runs one, so Detroit is out.  Green Bay is out.  Tampa and Indy are presumably still in, but after that...

My point here is simple.  To run a specific defense, you need players who fit that defense.  Anyone who's spent time studying defenses know that the players you want in a Cover-2 system are much different than what you want in a 3-4.  Cover-2 corners have to be stronger and don't need to be as quick as 3-4 (or any other system's) corners.  The defensive tackles need to be smaller and quicker, able to penetrate the line.  And so on.  But, in general the supply for each system doesn't grow.  So, your ability to get players to fit a system is mostly constrained by the demand--how many other teams also want players for that system.  And it's there that I think the Bears will have an edge in sticking to a Cover-2 in the future.  Because there won't be as many teams looking for the players the Bears want on defense, the Bears A.) won't have to look as hard, and B.) won't have to pay as much in terms of draft picks and/or contracts.  So, having Lovie and the Cover-2 stay on would let the Bears have the pick of the litter for defenders in the future.

Compare that with Bill Cowher.  Now, his coordinators (Dom Capers, Dick LeBeau) were more closely associated with it, but Bill always ran a 3-4 while he was with the Steelers.  I'm certain that if he was our coach next year, he'd want to switch the team over.  But unlike the Steelers, who had built up a strong base of 3-4 players for years and only had to fill in the cracks each year, the Bears would have to basically start from scratch for the entire defense.  I'm not joking; most of the players the Bears have on defense now wouldn't really fit anywhere on a 3-4.  That would leave the Bears begging and clawing for the scraps that were out on the market to make a defense, and it would show.  The Packers basically got extremely lucky that B.J. Raji, who projects to a perfect fit for the critical NT position, fell to them in the draft.  But there are maybe one of those players each year, and you have to fight for them.  There's a good chance that the Bears wouldn't get the guys they need.

I understand that the defense was not up to most people's standards last season, and I agree with that assessment.  And I realize that people want accountability, and I concur.  If Lovie can't get this thing working, then he might need to be let go.  But I think the road will be easier for us in the near future if we can stick with the Cover-2.  At least until it becomes super popular again.